Travels through Central Europe 

Prologue

In October 2017, my brother Curt sent me an email in which he wrote, “A client of mine just got back from Oktoberfest in Munich and it sounded like a real good time.” Curt wondered if I might be interested in going, but walked back the idea by adding, “I know you are not big on beer and travel, but I thought I would ask.” Sharon and I loved our past trips to Europe, but we hadn’t been there since 1992 (aside from a short trip I took to Amsterdam in 2002 with Curt and my parents). Clearly it was time to go back. And despite our aversion to beer, Oktoberfest in Munich was the focal point. I read up on what were the best places to visit in Europe, and after playing around with Google and Bing online maps plotted a course that took in Lucerne, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, and Munich and many points in between. I figured it would take at least 15 days to do it right. I found some very reasonably priced tickets to Zurich on Icelandair and bought a couple. Then I sent an email inviting my brother and sisters to join us. They all declined, but we were going back to Europe after a 26 year hiatus. 

It would be my sixth trip to the continent, Sharon’s fifth, and our fourth together. Here’s what did and what we experienced.